Another SenoReality Pictures short film is in the can. Directed by Kansas City powerhouse Patrick Rea, and starring Michelle Davidson and Brian Paulette, “The Hourglass Figure” is completed and ready for the demands of a rigorous festival life.
Written by Davidson and indie shorts sage Amber Rapp, “The Hourglass Figure” is a lesson in precision, deftly illuminating how devastating time can be when it’s toyed with; when there is too much or too little taken.
Wife and mother, Chelsea (Davidson), grapples with time as she tries to find more for herself while submitting to the measures of homemaking. It doesn’t help that her husband Ray (Paulette) applies additional weight each time he comes home from work wanting his dinner, wanting his pants hemmed, wanting random items in the home to be found, and wanting his wife to look like Barbie.
It is a quick snippet, not even a whole snippet, but a quick one of just how much pressure a wife and mother may place on herself when juggling babies, laundry, dinner, and keeping the attention of a bored husband, not to mention responsibilities outside the house. It’s quick, but it’s intense.
Enter the hourglass. A solution. One hour added to her day. To finish that one or two things she can never quite get to, to spruce up her looks, to prepare a hearty meal, to play a game with her cherubs.
There is a warning attached to the hourglass, however, one stemming from just how profound time is, and how its force prevails in our lives. Messing around with it, not appreciating it, not utilizing it properly proves to be costly in real life. The same can be said for this desperate mother in “The Hourglass Figure”.
Using direct dialogue to orient the viewer, the film uses sound cues to really deliver the story and suspense. It’s clear that something is amiss, and each elevation of consequence is preceded by gut-stirring sounds that make you grip tighter to your seat. You know something unbelievable is about to go down.
The most unbelievable part is how well the two tiny actors hold their own in scenes with these Kansas City veterans. The girls do just as much to build the tension in Chelsea’s journey from overwhelmed mother to, well, go ahead and see the movie. The performances are stellar, and so are the visual and narrative surprises.
One spoil is the timeline. In a film like this it should be clear. Because the warning is so specific to how many times in one day Chelsea can use the hourglass, the viewer should know exactly when they are. But other than that, from concept to completion, “The Hourglass Figure” is a mass of intrigue.
The rules of our relationship with time are forever. Break the rules and time will punish you. Join “The Hourglass Figure” on Facebook to learn more about forcing an extra hour into the day.
And, without taking a breath, Rea and his film entourage move forward. They have mounted a full scale indiegogo campaign, requesting funds for the next SenoReality Pictures feature, “Enclosure”. They’ve taken no time. They utilize it to make films.
To learn more about this campgrounds spook-fest centered on a couple trapped in an isolated tent, and ways you can support, please visit the indiegogo page. Also ‘like’ “Enclosure” on Facebook.
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